PBiR-X IR Torch

Okay, so what’s in the box? Firstly, there is no box, there’s also no charger, no batteries, not even a plastic torch mount. All you get is an empty bubblewrapped torch. Perhaps not what you’d expect for £99 but, trust me, sometimes great things come in shoddy packaging.

Paul Baker has been putting together his Ranger series of IRs for a long time. The now legendary ‘Black Sun’ pill really put his original Rangers on the IR map and now he’s upgraded both the pills and the lenses with the PBiR-S (£89) and the high power Black Sun replacement the PBiR-X.

Based on a T20 body, Paul reconstructs the torch from the ground up and fits and tunes a custom focusable flood/spot lens and ultrapowerful IR pill, to produce quite simply the best IR torch I’ve ever had on a rifle.

Obviously, the PBiR in both forms is aimed squarely at serious shooters and IR upgraders. Having said that it would, courtesy of the three power modes and flood to spot adjustability, be equally at home on an air rifle or rimfire.

Paul has sold over 600 units to serious and discerning shooters and I can understand why. It’s become the torch of choice for long range at night and is invariably found alongside high-end NV gear, such as the Drone Pro and 6.5x50 Photons with doublers or indeed any tubed NV set-up.

Special ingredients

What makes it special? Three things; the potential tightness of the focusable beam, the beam clarity and the incredible range. The PBiR-X typically reaches out to an astonishing 700 yards. Mounted alongside the latest IR scopes, it will stretch their performance way beyond what most of us would ever consider shooting.

Any downsides? The smooth tube can tend to rotate in the mount, but a bit of electrical tape is an easy fix. Unlike the PBiR-S, the PBiR-X doesn’t store the current power setting when powered off, so you will need to cycle-through the three power modes if you don’t require highpower straight out of the gate.

Upgrading older gear

Perhaps the biggest appeal will be to those running older NV scopes. A typical example being the rather ‘Heath Robinson’ NV set-up pictured in this article. This started out as an experiment, to see what can be achieved in terms of long-range NV on a budget.

A second-hand Photon XT, a mount to attach a £20 eBay 135mm lens and a set of ATP66 rings to get it on the gun and zeroed. In reality. it didn’t really pan out. My existing torches couldn’t deliver enough focused light given the x12.2 mag the lens.

However, this project has now been saved by the PBiR-X. This scope can now easily shoot out way beyond the abilities of the 17 HMR it’s sitting on. If you’re looking to seriously upgrade your NV set-up, the PBiR-X is only way to go.